In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

Actually, considering the shiat news about both consoles I would bet that this sold out preorder stuff is entirely intentional and that on launch day there will be plenty of mediocre next gen consoles sitting on the shelves.

Remember, folks -- pre-sales for consoles are almost always based on speculation, as in:

"If I pre-order this now and list it on eBay a week before launch, I can pick it up, ship it and make a profit."

When the PS3 came out, EB Games and Gamestop sold out of them on launch day (inventory was EXTREMELY tight) and then had a good percentage of them come back unopened after Christmas when they'd failed to sell on eBay after repeated listings. I remember it well because I was a store manager at the time and often had days where I had to record sales figures in the negative because we'd had a $600 PS3 returned.

The real measure isn't going to be pre-sales, but year one sell-through rates. That's how you know if a console has succeeded. (We can look at the Wii U right now, for example, and see that even though it's sold 3.45 million units, it's significantly below projections and comparable sales with the Wii and software sales are poor overall, indicating that it is indeed a failed platform right now.)

nocturnal001:In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

Actually, considering the shiat news about both consoles I would bet that this sold out preorder stuff is entirely intentional and that on launch day there will be plenty of mediocre next gen consoles sitting on the shelves.

Yeah, extremely doubtful. It took nearly a year for the Wii to stay on shelves and the 360 stayed off for around seven. Even the PS3 which had a horrendous launch took a good three months before it was constantly in stock.

Then when you run out of your guaranteed launch day XBones you change the order page to read 'Not guaranteed for launch date delivery do you still wish to place your order?' and you continue to take their money

secularsage:Remember, folks -- pre-sales for consoles are almost always based on speculation, as in:

"If I pre-order this now and list it on eBay a week before launch, I can pick it up, ship it and make a profit."

When the PS3 came out, EB Games and Gamestop sold out of them on launch day (inventory was EXTREMELY tight) and then had a good percentage of them come back unopened after Christmas when they'd failed to sell on eBay after repeated listings. I remember it well because I was a store manager at the time and often had days where I had to record sales figures in the negative because we'd had a $600 PS3 returned.

The real measure isn't going to be pre-sales, but year one sell-through rates. That's how you know if a console has succeeded. (We can look at the Wii U right now, for example, and see that even though it's sold 3.45 million units, it's significantly below projections and comparable sales with the Wii and software sales are poor overall, indicating that it is indeed a failed platform right now.)

CSB about the PS3 launch. I was working at Target at the time and was standing outside talking to the customers waiting for us to open. Somebody came up and offered $1000 just for their spot in line to be able to buy the system; not a single person out of seven took it. This was in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte so I wouldn't be surprised if they were all house wives married to millionaires but damn. If somebody offered me a grand for sitting outside for less than 48 hours you damn well better believe I'll take it.

nocturnal001:In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

Actually, considering the shiat news about both consoles I would bet that this sold out preorder stuff is entirely intentional and that on launch day there will be plenty of mediocre next gen consoles sitting on the shelves.

Won't go that far, but I would say odds are good that you'll be able to easily find them on the shelf within the first three months of launch if you're so inclined. The last three system releases (Wii-U, Vita, and 3DS) all had strong launches followed by step fall off (with only the 3DS being able to mount any sort of recovery at the moment). It wouldn't surprise me if the PS4 and XB1 follow this trend too.

Saners:nocturnal001: In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

Actually, considering the shiat news about both consoles I would bet that this sold out preorder stuff is entirely intentional and that on launch day there will be plenty of mediocre next gen consoles sitting on the shelves.

Yeah, extremely doubtful. It took nearly a year for the Wii to stay on shelves and the 360 stayed off for around seven. Even the PS3 which had a horrendous launch took a good three months before it was constantly in stock.

It makes sense though. Limit pre-orders to create a "omg it's sold out buzz", and then either release more pre-orders a bit later or just let people walk in and buy them.

If not, then these guys are failing on another level. There is no excuse for not being able to stock a product for months after launch, unless it's success takes you by surprise. That is obviously not the case here, if anything the demand will be lower than they had expected.

nocturnal001:It's really worth noting that it is just 2 retailers that are "sold out" and each has only sold out one particular console. I'll pay a little more attention if ALL retailers sell out of pre-orders.

Because each location/company is given a number of units they'll get on day 1, and the company doesn't sell past that number to avoid pissing off customers who put up $100 to ensure they got their console on day 1?

lewismarktwo:InmanRoshi: theresnothinglft: Well that is the real question. How is the XBone actually managing to sell out preorders?

Because internet nerd rage is largely niche and impotent, despite the over inflated sense of power and influence.

I think it has more to do with the purposely low number of allowed preorders. Nerds are the ones who preorder stuff.

There will be plenty of both consoles at launch.. maybe a couple weeks into it.

You have to remember though, this is going into the holiday season. Both Sony and MS are guaranteed to sell every single unit available, all the way through new years. Just as other people have mentioned, with exception of the WiiU flop, almost every other console in the past decade was subject to rampant secondary market reselling. I remember PS3's at launch going for 3x's the sale price.

When the same thing happens this year, I'll likely eBay my launch day XB1, and laugh my way to the bank as farkers confess confusion as to why both game consoles are sold out everywhere.

This. It's like shouting "STOP" when people keep burying you in money. For a business this is stupid unless production can't keep up with the demand (in which case you ramp up production).

No, it's artificial scarcity.

Headlines that tout how the thing sold out in record time make people think its super popular, there's a ton of demand, etc. it's a marketing strategy. It's so popular you can't get one is a great strategy to make people 'need' to have one.

nocturnal001:In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

Actually, considering the shiat news about both consoles I would bet that this sold out preorder stuff is entirely intentional and that on launch day there will be plenty of mediocre next gen consoles sitting on the shelves.

Except that traditionally (Wii was an exception) consoles are heavily subsidized at launch. Sony may well have issues keeping up with demand, but I imagine that this may have been part of the deal with various MS-Best buy joint ventures (think the winphone zone).

Khellendros:nocturnal001: In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

You're right. If someone can't get the console the first day, they never buy it a week later when the second, third, and fourth shipments come in. They give up.

Facepalm.jpgThat customer may or may not come back a week or 4 months later and buy your product. If a customer has money and in their hand and you can't sell them something you are not optimizing your profits.

kab:Also it bears repeating. Post lower production numbers, get to claim that your product has sold out, thus giving the impression that your product simply must be sought after.

This claim of sold out pre-orders shouldn't surprise anyone.

No way brah, they are selling out because they consoles are epic and will be a huge success. I need to believe this to support my decision to pre-order a product that won't be released until 4 months from now.

dj_spanmaster:This is true. I'm a huge Nintendo apologist, but I get the feeling they don't know where to go next.

as a life long nintendo fan... it is far past time for nintendo to pull a sega and become a software publisher and just stop with the consoles. the Wii was a hit... but only for Wii Sports. Most of the consoles sold sat unused and the Wii U is just... sitting.

nocturnal001:Khellendros: nocturnal001: In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

You're right. If someone can't get the console the first day, they never buy it a week later when the second, third, and fourth shipments come in. They give up.

Facepalm.jpgThat customer may or may not come back a week or 4 months later and buy your product. If a customer has money and in their hand and you can't sell them something you are not optimizing your profits.

Which would make sense if there were other suppliers for Best Buy to go to. If they sell out of every item they have and cannot get more items, they have maximized their profits as much as they could.

nocturnal001:Khellendros: nocturnal001: In related news, both MS and Sony failed to meet the initial demand for their consoles, leaving money on the table.

You're right. If someone can't get the console the first day, they never buy it a week later when the second, third, and fourth shipments come in. They give up.

Facepalm.jpgThat customer may or may not come back a week or 4 months later and buy your product. If a customer has money and in their hand and you can't sell them something you are not optimizing your profits.

Nice business theory. It holds up in generalities, but every product and service is unique, and you have to respond to the needs of that market base.

People who decide to buy a next-gen system on day one are not malleable. They want that system, and are going to get that system. It may take a few days or a few weeks to buy it, but a day one console buyer is not going to jump from Sony to Microsoft that day, or decide not to purchase at all if they don't have stock in at that moment.

Now, if you're still out a few months later, you have a problem. Casual users or tech laggards may let apathy prevent them from purchasing something later, but we're talking about leading edge, day one buyers. Very specific and very predictable market group, and they'll come back a week later if they have to.

Aren't there multiple configurations/bundles with the release XboxOne? If so, I'm surprised that they sold out of all those different bundles. I didn't know that there were that many suckers willing to buy the XboxOne after the E3 debacle.

I'm pretty sure Amazon sold out launch date orders of the PS4 a while ago. If you want to pre-order there, I think you still can. The unit may not arrive for a while after the product launch date though.

PsyLord:Aren't there multiple configurations/bundles with the release XboxOne? If so, I'm surprised that they sold out of all those different bundles. I didn't know that there were that many suckers willing to buy the XboxOne after the E3 debacle.

I don't think so. So far they've only announced one console and one price. I do know they were bouncing around a subscription-based plan (get console for $199 and sign up for 2-year $15/mo XBL contract), but haven't heard anything since the initial idea.

frepnog:PsyLord: I didn't know that there were that many suckers willing to buy the XboxOne after the E3 debacle.

most console gamers don't give a shiat or even know what happened at E3, and the biggest hooplah about the Xbox, always on, has been rescinded.

it will be one hell of a great console.

/so will the PS4.

Has it? Do you mean the always connected part (the 24-hour check-in thing) or that the XBone Kinect will be always on/listening? I'd heard they'd dropped the check-in requirement, I was under the impression the always-on Kinect was still true though?

elysive:I'm pretty sure Amazon sold out launch date orders of the PS4 a while ago. If you want to pre-order there, I think you still can. The unit may not arrive for a while after the product launch date though.

Just looked and the Xbox one for launch is also sold out there. I guess if you're willing to buy a game package with the system, its still possible to get a PS4 on its release date.

/doesnt see why anyone cares about Best Buy, or even Game Stop for that matter...they both are annoying places to shop

miscreant:frepnog: PsyLord: I didn't know that there were that many suckers willing to buy the XboxOne after the E3 debacle.

most console gamers don't give a shiat or even know what happened at E3, and the biggest hooplah about the Xbox, always on, has been rescinded.

it will be one hell of a great console.

/so will the PS4.

Has it? Do you mean the always connected part (the 24-hour check-in thing) or that the XBone Kinect will be always on/listening? I'd heard they'd dropped the check-in requirement, I was under the impression the always-on Kinect was still true though?

I don't recall them stating anything about the always on Kinect being able to be turned off. But they did rescind the 24hr check in and the used game thing (I think).

InmanRoshi:dj_spanmaster: Well, that makes sense. The type of people who will buy the XBone (that generally don't care, haven't read up, etc) will do it at BB, and PS4 will similarly sell better at GameStop.

Because when I step into a Gamestop, I usually think "This is where all the smart people hang out".